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RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University women's soccer team will kick off the 2011 athletics season by hosting in-state foe Louisville on Friday at 5:00 p.m. at EKU Soccer Field.

EKU fell at Louisville, 4-1, in the Colonels' season opener last year. The Cardinals return eight starters from that team, which won its first seven games of the season before finishing the year 10-9 (4-7 Big East).

The following is a preview of the Colonels' 2011 season:

The Eastern Kentucky University women’s soccer team is one of only four Ohio Valley Conference teams to qualify for the league tournament each of the last three seasons, and head coach Lindsay Basalyga has transformed her seven-year-old program into a consistent contender for the conference crown. The Colonels were picked to finish sixth in the OVC by conference head coaches and sports information directors this preseason, but that prediction is most likely based on the team’s youth (two seniors, four juniors, 11 sophomores, and eight freshmen). Basalyga, however, does not see her team’s youth as a limitation; she sees it as a positive.

“This is the youngest team we’ve ever had, with just two seniors and four juniors,” Basalyga said. “But that’s not something we’re worried about. We’re actually excited about our youth. There is a different spirit in preseason that we’ve never had before.”

Basalyga’s faith in her youth movement is grounded in last year’s numbers, when the 2010 Colonels created a potent offense that broke or tied team records for goals (20), points (53), assists (13), corner kicks (65), goals in a game (five) and points in a game (13). The key? 60 percent (12-of-20) of the goals and 62 percent (33-of-53) of the points were scored by freshmen, and 54 percent (7-of-13) of the assists were dished out by freshmen. Behind those numbers, Basalyga is confident that the athletes the coaching staff has brought in possess the talent and determination to contribute in the OVC immediately.

“Our incoming class comes from very competitive backgrounds, and we’re definitely expecting them to contribute this year,” Basalyga said.

Helping along the incoming class is a talented group of returning players that includes sophomore forward Nicole Donnelly, a 2010 first team All-OVC selection who scored a program-record six goals last year (three of which were game-winners), junior defender Deja Tennon, a 2010 second-team All-OVC selection, and senior stalwart Stephanie Murray, who played every minute of every game on the backline in 2010, but who will most likely see increased time as a forward in 2011. Those three will be joined by an array of talented and creative veterans, almost all of whom played a large role in last year’s success. With so much returning firepower, EKU’s always-rising expectations are not to qualify for the 2011 OVC Tournament, but to win it.

"Even though we are entering our seventh season, we are still a very young program relative to the rest of the country,” Basalyga said. “Every season our expectations rise in terms of what we are asking of our athletes, both on and off the field. We have more depth than we have ever had in every position and there is a lot of pressure to perform in training on a consistent basis - this is how it's supposed to be. There are a lot of players who should be playing and could be playing, but playing time will come down to who is willing to consistently put in the work on the defensive side of the ball, who is able to keep the ball, and who is going to give us the best chance to win soccer games."

The following is a position-by-position look at the 2011 Colonels

Goalkeepers

If there is a glaring question mark going into the 2011 season, it is at goalkeeper, as EKU faces the daunting task of replacing four-year starter and two-time all-conference keeper Stephanie Lynch. Luckily, Basalyga has two capable candidates, both of whom are pushing each other to win the starting job. The first is sophomore Lyndsay Vance, a tall, rangy keeper who earned one start in place of Lynch last year and made the most of it, recording nine saves and playing all 110 minutes of a hotly-contested, double-overtime scoreless draw at Valparaiso, a team that, at that the time, was averaging over two goals per game and had not been shut out all season. Vance was named OVC Goalkeeper of the Week for her effort in that game. The second is freshman Annie Wickett, an athletic keeper out of Fredrick, Md. who was a field player in high school, but a keeper on her club team, The Bethesda Riptide SC, which she helped lead to two State Cup Finals, one State Cup Semifinal and a WAGS League Championship.

“Both keepers bring different qualities to the position,” Basalyga said. “Both saw time in our exhibition game at IPFW, but the starting job is still up in the air. In the end, it will come down to who is the most consistent at keeping the ball out of the back of the net.”

Defenders

Aside from Murray (who will play a different position in 2011), EKU returns every starter from a backline that surrendered only six goals in eight OVC games and recorded six shutouts in 2010. The speedy Tennon, senior Heather Bruce, a strong, versatile player who started 11 games last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury on October and sophomore #Emily D’Italia#, a transfer from Robert Morris University, will compete for time at the center back position.

Junior Hayley Wright, a two-year starter on the backline, and sophomore Lauren Fant, an athletic, offensive-minded defender who scored a goal and assisted on two more last year, will compete for time on the outside, as will sophomore Courtney Klaas, who, according to Basalyga, “has an incredible work rate,” and freshmen Ashley Ryan, who is “extremely athletic,” and Paige Larkin, who is “a true left-footed player who likes to get forward.”

“We’re still looking to play four in the back, but we’re looking for center backs who are good in the air, can hold possession when we have it and defend hard around the 18, and outside backs who are aggressive and really want to get into the attack,” Basalyga said.

Midfielders

“This is the area of the field where I think competition for playing time will be the greatest,” Basalyga said.

EKU returns several starters to the midfield, including sophomore Tess Akgunduz, who Basalyga praised as a great distributor of the ball, and junior Katie Collar and sophomore Brittany Nomady, both of whom Basalyga cited as very creative, attacking players. Akgunduz, Collar and Nomady combined to record five assists last season, and the skilled trio will look to be even more active in distribution this season.

They will be pushed all season by sophomore Kristan Paynter, a hard-worker who appeared in all but two games last season and showed the ability to possess the ball out of pressure, and freshmen Kaylynn Brown and Sydney Montgomery, both of whom Basalyga said have shown flashes at practice and “are buying into the system we are looking to play as a team on the defensive side of the ball, as well as up top.” Freshman Whitney Wallace, meanwhile, is a versatile player who will see time in the midfield.

“We have a lot of quality midfielders, but what it boils down to is who’s going to put the work in on the defensive side of the ball,” Basalyga said. “That will dictate who starts and receives consistent playing time.”

Forwards

In its seven-year history, the EKU soccer program has been a defensive-minded one; however, the Colonels scored 20 goals last year and Basalyga thinks the pieces are in place to create even more chances in the attack this season. That all starts with Donnelly, who exploded onto the OVC and national scene by scoring consecutive game-winners against defending OVC Tournament champion Murray State and defending OVC regular season champion UT Martin in one weekend. For her efforts, the rookie offensive sparkplug was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week and became the first Colonel ever to receive national attention when the website CollegeSoccer360.com named her a National Primetime Performer of the Week.

Donnelly will have help in the form of Murray, a converted defender who has only attempted six shots in her career but who possesses good speed and is good on the dribble, and sophomore Janelle Coates, an active, opportunistic forward who buried three goals and assisted on another last year.

Freshman Devon Saini, who scored the Colonels’ lone goal in their exhibition with IPFW last week, as well as sophomores Sarah LeBrun and Maggie Whitfield and freshman Stephany Ellison, all of whom Basalyga described as “hard-working forwards who are very opportunistic,” will compete for playing time up front.

“I think we have more creative players up front this year,” Basalyga said. “And, hopefully, that will translate into more goal-scoring opportunities.”

In the end, Basalyga thinks the Colonels will rise or fall with their ability to win a few key road games in a very balanced OVC, something they were not able to accomplish last year.

“I think the conference is the strongest it has ever been,” Basalyga said. “And it’s going to come down to who can be most consistent and who can win on the road. That’s what’s going to separate the top teams: who can get points on the road.”